Anacostia River

8/11/2019 Anacostia River

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ANACOSTIA RIVER

River of LifeAnacostia River

Washington DC is home to two rivers, the Potomacin the western part of the city, and the Anacostia inthe east. The Anacostia River is formed by theconfluence of two principal tributaries, theNorthwest Branch and the Northeast Branch in the

town of Bladensburg in suburban Maryland. Fromthere it flows for 13.5 km through Washington DC,Americas capital city, where it empties into thePotomac River approximately 174 km upstream ofthe Chesapeake Bay. The waters fromChesapeake Bay flow out into the Atlantic Ocean.

Although it has a tidal effect that is felt upstream asfar as Bladensburg, the waters of the Anacostiamove slowly, flushing inefficiently and making itespecially vulnerable to contamination. Evidence ofthis can be seen at its confluence with the PotomacRiver where the dramatic difference in colourbetween the mixing waters is due to the high levelof sediment in the Anacostia.

Captain John Smith was the first European explorerto visit the area. He traveled along the Anacostiawhile surveying the navigable waters of thePotomac region in 1608. Smith's reports about theregion opened the door for subsequent Europeansettlement. Farmers cleared forested land to plant

profitable crops of tobacco and wheat. These days, Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens isall that remains of the vast marshlands that originally characterized this area andit is the only place where you can really imagine the landscape before it becameAmerica's capital. Incidentally, Captain John Smith is best known for his friendshipwith the Virginia Native American girl Pocahontas (Disneys version pictured left).

The name Anacostia comes from the Nanchotank Indian word anaquash,meaning "village trading centre"; these days it is often referred to as the forgottenriver" since it rarely appears on maps and in tourist guides. Locally, it has a lowerprofile than its adjoining DC river, the Potomac. However, initiatives like theAnacostia Waterfront Initiative, are working to reverse this trend. The citys newbaseball stadium was built on the banks of the Anacostia, and a vibrant nightlife,condos and restaurants are moving in as a result.

The vision for Washington as imagined by Pierre LEnfant, the citys original townplanner, was for the Anacostia waterfront to be a center for commerce andresidential development and location for the citys principal docks. But centuries ofpollution and poor urban development turned Washingtons back to the Anacostia.

Anacostia River was compiled by Adrian Evans in 2010Rivers of the World is a Thames Festival project delivered in partnership with the British CouncilsConnecting Classrooms with support from HSBC Global Education Programmewww.thamesfestival.org


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ANACOSTIA RIVER

River of LifeHabitat

The habitat of the Anacostia River

area has changed dramatically inthe past three hundred years.Today over 70% of the watershedis developed land and about 25%is original forest cover. The imageon the left shows originalAnacostia landscape lookingdownriver from BladensburgWaterfront Park.

Until the mid-17th century, theAnacostia contained healthypopulations of American and

hickory shad, white and yellowperch, red-breasted sunfish,catfish, and herring, providing theNanchotank Indians and othersliving in the surrounding regionwith a seemingly limitless source offood. Lush forests and abundantwildlife complemented the crystal

clear river that flowed into the Potomac River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.This was a land of plenty.

But with the arrival of European settlers and the intensification of agriculture in theregion, particularly tobacco and wheat, the Anacostia and its streams began toerode and fill with silt and pollutants. Large plantations sprouted up and theharvest was loaded onto seagoing vessels in Bladensburg for onward shipment toEngland. By the mid-19th century most of the watershed was cultivated anderoded soil from upland agricultural fields had carried downstream as silt and thishad rendered the port at Bladenburg inaccessible.

Intense urbanisation in the 20th century resulted in further loss of forest andwetland areas, increased pollution and discharges of combined sewer overflowand industrial waste. The shape of the Anacostia also changed dramatically.Between 1902 and 1926, the Army Corps of Engineers dredged the river bottom,filled and eradicated most of the rivers remaining fringe wetlands, and radicallytransformed the rivers edge by constructing embankments.

Despite its poor water quality, these days the Anacostia River and parklands stillprovide important habitat for an impressive array of wildlife. Bird species are foundin open water and throughout the wetlands, scub, fields, woodland and urbanenvironments. These include rare and majestic birds, such as the great blueheron, great egret, bald eagle, red-bellied woodpecker, willow flycatcher, red-tailed hawk and song sparrow, in addition to the normal array of city-dwellers likethe American robin, house sparrow, blue jay and Northern mockingbird.

Parts of the riverbanks also support beavers, river otters, mink and red and grayfoxes, plus mammals adapted to city life such as raccoons and squirrels.Amphibian fauna include the spotted salamander, Eastern painted turtle, bull-frogand black rat snake. Fish species include blue-black herring, white perch,largemouth bass, brown bullheads, spottailed shiners, banded killifish and catfish.



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ANACOSTIA RIVER

Polluted RiverForgotten River

Much of the Anacostia's pollution is caused

by storm water runoff, a problem closelylinked to urban sprawl. More developmentmeans more roads, pavements, parkinglots and rooftops. As a result, the water thatwas once absorbed and filtered by soil andplants now runs over the hard surfaces,picking up pollutants which are thendumped directly into the river. 83% of theAnacostia watershed lies in suburbanMaryland and unsurprisingly, over 80% ofthe pollutants in the river originate fromhere.

In an effort to solve this problem there areschemes to encourage the planting of raingardens, using porous paving in parkingareas and state-of-the-art urban forestrytechniques like green roofs. In future, it isproposed that new buildings will have toretain and filter runoff on-site or route storm

water to filtrating wetlands designed as attractive water features in adjacentparkland. Scientists estimate that rain gardens can absorb up to 50% of stormwater volumes; it can also trap 94% of the sediment, 70% of the nitrogen and 43%of the phosphorus washed off the land by rain.

Plastic bags, bottles, wrappers and styrofoam make up a large part of the

discarded rubbish. A new law, effective from 1 January 2010, bans non-recyclableplastic bags from shops and imposes a 5-cent fee, paid by consumers, on alldisposable recyclable bags. Most of the proceeds from this tax will go to cleaningup the Anacostia.

Over the years, industrial uses have also damaged the river. Toxins frommanufacturing plants and electricity generating stations have settled into therivers sediment where any disturbance re-releases them into the water, furtherdamaging its quality.

Approximately one third of Washington is served by a combined sewer system.Built in 1871, it once carried both sanitary sewage and storm water runoff in onepiping system to the Potomac and Anacostia. One hundred years later, the Blue

Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant was built to intercept and treat wastewaterbefore it discharged into the rivers. The system functions well during dry weather.However, following significant rainfall, the sheer volume of water overwhelms thecapacity of the pipes and the excess flow, which includes sanitary waste, isdischarged directly into the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers, Rock Creek Park andtributary streams.

Over 60% of the systems annual outfall issues via 17 outlets into the Anacostiadumping a total of two billion gallons of dilute wastewater and storm water into theriver. Successful lawsuits filed against the sanitation companies resulted in hugepayouts and commitments to reduce the number of times wastewater isdischarged into the river from an annual average of 80 to an annual average ofjust two. This will involve building new pipes with greater capacities and re-siting

some of the existing water-pumping stations.



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ANACOSTIA RIVER

Resourceful RiverSmoke & Slaves

Tobacco was the first profitable

cash crop in the New World.Smoking became popular as earlyas 1614 at the Court of James I.

For the first land settlers, tobaccowas an easy beginners crop. Itcould be planted on freshly clearedland, and needed little tending inthe humid, almost sub-tropicalclimate around the Anacostia.

But a tobacco field could onlyproduce four years of good yields

before it drained the soil ofessential nutrients. After that, thefarmer had to clear new land toplant; the old fields needed some20 years to recover.

The first African slaves appeared inthe Anacostia region in 1696. Theimportation of slaves enabledtobacco planters to clear more landand produce ever larger yields. By

1750, the high point of the tobacco economy, over half the whitemale population of the area owned slaves and as a consequenceby this time too, the Anacostia region had lost nearly half itswoodlands.

The engraving on the left dates from 1820 and shows the tobaccoindustry in the Anacostia area. In the centre of the engraving, thescallop, shell, cask and fouled anchor symbolize the ties betweenthe plantations and merchant shipping.

In 1740, ocean-going ships could make the journey 13km up theAnacostia to reach the port at Bladensburg. The depth of the riverhere was 40 feet at high tide. But as the forested land in thewatershed area was cut and cleared, the exposed soil erodedrapidly. The sluggish Anacostia couldnt cope with thesesediments and the river rapidly silted. By 1853 the docks inBladensburg were inaccessible to large commercial ships andsoon after they were abandoned. Today, the river is only a coupleof inches deep here at low tide.

The American Civil War (1861 to 65) and the abolition of slaveryfrom 1862 coincided with a fall in demand for American tobacco.Farms around the Anacostia were broken up for urbandevelopment or into smaller units with the land use changing tomarket-garden crops like tomatoes, vegetables and melons.

Many freed slaves found work in the Washington Navy Yard onthe Anacostia in the boat and fishing trades and many settled onthe east side of the river.



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ANACOSTIA RIVER

Resourceful RiverTale of 2 Rivers

Washingtons two principal

rivers have developed in verydifferent ways. While thePotomac has been blessedwith plentiful green space, withNational landmarks like theJefferson Memorial and theMarine Corps War Memorialgracing its banks, theAnacostias banks host the jail,incinerators, and power plants.Anacostia activists havecontinually fought projects thatthreaten to encroach upon the

habitat.

The state of any river will havea mental impact on the peoplewho live in its vicinity. Thosewho live east of the river are inthe most impoverished portionof the nation's capital, where

violence, unemployment, and lack of opportunity have shrunk the population towell under 100,000, with 38% living below the poverty line. Here, the polluted andinaccessible river is seen as one more avenue of hopelessness.

However, with the central area of Washington almost fully developed, theAnacostia waterfront is emerging as the new growth corridor of the city and this isfueling the largest transformation of any urban waterfront in the United States. In2003, full-scale plans to revamp the area began in earnest with the signing of theAnacostia Waterfront Initiative. This vision for the ambitious project involves afundamental redefinition of both the Anacostia and the city of Washington.

Plans include numerous parks restored with wetlands and forests, facilities forboats, playgrounds, a four-acre 9/11 Memorial Grove, and an EnvironmentalEducation Centre. This centre will engage visitors in learning about the historyand use of the Anacostia River through a two-story complex topped by a greenroof with classrooms, labs and a multipurpose area beneath. The Anacostia alsoplays host to the newly built baseball stadium, and its accompanying reastaurantsand developments.

Washington DCs 25-year redevelopment plan includes creating a network ofpaths to nearby neighbourhoods and restoring green spaces long turned brown.These areas, such as Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens (pictured above),Kingman Island (pictured left), and Watts Branch Park (renamed Marvin GayePark), are currently saddled with rubbish, frequented by drug dealers, and oftencontaminated with toxic chemicals. Leaders also seek to create new housing,including low-income options, and to connect isolated neighbourhoods with a newlight-railway system. And after a century's worth of sewer overflows, relief isexpected soon: newly installed pumps and valves should result in 40% less rawsewage making its way to the river.

These initiatives, and the groundswell of interest in waterfront renewal that drivesthem, present a golden opportunity for reviving the Anacostia.



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ANACOSTIA RIVER

Working RiverNavy Yard

Washingtons Navy Yard was

sited on the west bank of theAnacostia in 1799. Soon after, in1812, it played a key role indefending the city from Britishinvasion. During its first years, itwas the navy's largestshipbuilding and shipfittingfacility and served as the mainport for receiving materials toconstruct Washingtonsmonumental buildings.Ultimately, the Yard became thenations oldest continuously

operating naval installation.

Its bustling wharves were a hubfor jobs making the Yard amagnet for commerce anddevelopment. Even after the riverhad become silted andunnavigable it still exertedeconomic influence on the widerarea. During these times the

Navy Yard changed from ship-building to the production of finished ship products,weapons and ammunition. By the mid-19th century, development reached acrossthe river via the 11th Street Bridge to a settlement then called Uniontown. In 1854this was a whites-only working-class settlement for Navy Yard workers. Uniontownremained whites-only until 1877. The area is now called Anacostia.

After the American Civil War of 1861 to 65, the large plantations in the Anacostiaarea became unviable and were broken up into smaller farms or were abandonedaltogether. People flocked to the city, fuelling demand for houses and jobs. Afterthe war, Washingtons African-American population grew to approximately 60,000,half the citys total population. Many lived around the Navy Yard, which employedfreed slaves and this initiated a long history of African-American neighbourhoodsalong the Anacostia. But the increasingly polluted and degraded state of the riverdiminished its value as an asset to the city.

By World War II, the Yard was the largest naval ordnance plant in the world. At itspeak it employed nearly 25,000 people. But post WWII demand fell off rapidly,jobs were lost and this had a significant effect on the economy of the whole area.Ordnance work was finally phased out in 1961 and three years later, the desertedfactory buildings began to be converted to office use. Around this time, theelevated portion of the Southeast-Southwest Freeway was completed, creating aphysical barrier for access to the Anacostia.

The Yard was the scene of many scientific developments. A clockwork torpedowas developed during the War of 1812 and ten years later, the country's firstmarine railway for the overhaul of large vessels was built here. A bottle-shapedcannon, a ship model testing basin, the first shipboard aircraft catapult (which wastested in the Anacostia River in 1912) and giant gears for the Panama Canal lockswere all developed at the Yard. Navy Yard technicians even applied their efforts tomedical designs for prosthetic hands and molds for artificial eyes and teeth.



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ANACOSTIA RIVER

River CityWashington DC

The first successful English colony

was established in America in 1607and a year later, pioneers underCaptain John Smith were exploringthe Potomac region. The coloniststhrived on the back of slavery anda flourishing tobacco trade. Thetown of Alexandria was establishedin Virginia in 1749 and Georgetownin Maryland two years later.

Congress established following theAmerican War of Independence(1775 to 83) decided that a new

federal capital was to be built onland bordering the Northern andSouthern States on the peninsulaformed by the Potomac andAnacostia Rivers. A new District ofColumbia (DC) was created for thecity on land donated by the statesof Maryland and Virginia.

The masterplan for the city wascommissioned by GeorgeWashington and laid out in 1791 byPierre LEnfant, a French architect.

The original design favoured both the Potomac and the Anacostia waterfrontsequally. In fact, the latter was considered to have the best access for trade and in1799 the Navy Yard was located on its shores.

But private investment was difficult to secure for these broad lowland areas thatwere susceptible to flooding and whose sluggish waters trapped pollutants. As aresult, the Anacostia became neglected and bit-by-bit, the waterfront became thelocation for unwanted land uses. When Washington constructed its sewagesystem in the 1880s, the outflow went directly into the Anacostia. And later, itsundeveloped riverbanks became the logical sites for railway lines for urbanfreeways.

During the early 20th century, the Army Corps of Engineers played the principalrole in forming the character of the Anacostia. They dredged the riverbed toimprove navigation and constructed embankments to reclaim land. The dredgedmaterial from the riverbed was used to create two artificial islands, Kingman andHeritage Islands (left, looking downriver), which were originally planned asrecreation areas. But poor access and lack of investment has led to neglect andabuse and currently they are closed to the public except for special events.

Population growth in the Washington area exploded after World War II butfollowing that it went into decline. However over the past decade there has been a5% growth in population to 600,000 of which 54% are registered as AfricanAmerican and 40% as white. Unfortunately, the citys notoriously high crime rates,unemployment, illiteracy and drug abuse are particularly acute in the Anacostiaregion east of the river.



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ANACOSTIA RIVER

River CityAnacostia

Anacostia is the

popular name forthe huge swatheof the capitalconsisting of themanyneighbourhoodseast of the river.Its heart, in thesmall, historicneighbourhoodof Anacostia, isimmediatelyacross the

FrederickDouglassBridge. The2000 censusrecords showthat Anacostia'spopulation is92% African-American, 5%Non-HispanicWhite and 3%other races.

The area beganto see

development as a part of the nation's capital in the 1850s, when Uniontown wasdeveloped as an affordable neighbourhood for workers employed at WashingtonNavy Yard across the river.

Anacostia soon after gained one very famous resident just to the southeast in theabolitionist, prominent black intellectual, and former vice presidential candidate,Frederick Douglass, who became known as the Sage of Anacostia. Preventedfrom living in Uniontown proper by official segregation laws, the abolitionistFrederick Douglass bought Cedar Hill from one of Uniontowns bankrupt founders.

Most of the Anacostia's development took place in the early 20th century,particularly during The Great Migration of southern African-Americans to theNorth, and during World War I, when the US government built the AnacostiaNaval Station and Bolling Airforce Base. The photo on the left shows the locationof the station and base on the Potomac with the mouth of the Anacostia top left.

Post World War II, Anacostia underwent rapid and dramatic demographic changefrom a population that was nearly 90% white to one that was (and is) over 90%black. The first catalyst for this change was the construction of the AnacostiaFreeway (I-295), which cut off the entire population of Greater Anacostia from thewaterfront (see photo above). Secondly, during the 1950s there was a large influxof new African-American residents and by 1957, the city became the nation's firstmajority black city. The third catalyst was the creation of many massive publichousing schemes east of the river, which concentrated DC's poorest residents inareas far away from the city centre and its services and amenities.



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ANACOSTIA RIVER

River CityBridges

There are seven bridges across

the Anacostia River in theWashington DC area. The first tobe built was the Eastern BranchBridge, a privately owned toll anddrawbridge built in 1800 at the siteof the current John Philip SousaBridge. It was blown up byretreating American soldiers in1814 then rebuilt, but burnedcompletely in 1846. Its destructionsignificantly slowed growth in theAnacostia and other areas east ofthe river for five decades. The

current John Philip Sousa Bridge,which carries PennsylvanniaAvenue over the river, is namedafter an American composer andconductor known particularly formilitary and patriotic marches.

In 1820, the privately owned Upper Navy Yard Bridge was built over the AnacostiaRiver at 11th Street. Also a toll bridge, this second bridge became a "free" bridgein 1848 after it was purchased by the federal government. The 11th Street Bridgesare now a pair of one-way bridges. The southbound structure is officially namedthe Officer Kevin J. Welsh Memorial Bridge, while the northbound structure isofficially called the 11th Street Bridge.

The Frederick Douglass MemorialBridge, otherwise known as theSouth Capitol Street Bridge SE(photo above), is named after theabolitionist, women's suffragist,author and statesman FrederickDouglass, who was born a slave inTalbot County, Maryland.

The Whitney Young MemorialBridge, otherwise known as theEast Capitol Street Bridge SE, wasrenamed after civil rights activistWhitney Young in 1973. The photoof the bridge on the left was takenin 1963.

Other bridges over the Anacostiainclude the Amtrak RailroadAnacostia Bridge, also called theMagruder Branch Bridge, theBenning Road NE7 bridge byKingman Island and the New YorkAve NE bridge which carriesInterstate 50 over the Anacostia byKenilworth Aquatic Gardens.



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ANACOSTIA RIVER

River CultureRiver Access

More than 50,000 people live

within a 10-minute walk ofthe Anacostia yet there is nowalkway to take them there.The Anacostia is cut off fromresidential areas around it bya regional highway systemand there are few coherentconnections between localstreets and the waterfront.Even the bridges are of themotorway sort with little or noprovision for pedestrians.And, if you do manage to

reach the Anacostia, thereare no continuous trails thatallow people to walk alongthe waterfront.

The Anacostia historicallyhas divided communitieseast of the river from themajority of employmentopportunities in Washington.

Three of the Anacostias seven bridges require major repair, reconstruction orreplacement and this major infrastructural work offers opportunities for recovery.Current plans favour the replacement of the existing Frederick Douglass Bridgewith a new river crossing and to rebuild the 11th Street Bridges as a smaller-scalelocal bridge that is pedestrian and cycle-friendly. A new tunnel under South CapitolStreet is also proposed in order to divert cars from Interstates 395 and 295 andthus reduce the volume of traffic along the waterfront. Additional improvements,such as six new crossings over and under the Anacostia Freeway, are aimed atproviding surrounding local roads access to the river.

On the riverside itself, there are grand plans to construct 20 miles of AnacostiaRiverwalk and Trail with three new pedestrian crossings at Kenilworth AquaticGardens, Massachusetts Avenue and the Washington Channel.

The plans for the Anacostia RiverParks represent the most ambitious vision forexpanding Washingtons open spaces since the Mall and its great monuments andmuseums were laid out a century ago. The RiverParks will be the largestrecreation area in Washington. It aims to provide over 20 miles of continuous riverwalks and cycle paths; a rich and varied waterfront for the enjoyment of all.

Urban planners hope that these new walkways and parks will open up a culturalcorridor for new museums, national memorials, public art commissions, civicfestivals and attractions linked with a new river transport system. A new park isproposed at the Hill East waterfront, there are plans to develop Poplar Point (left)as a signature landscaped garden with performance space; Navy Yard will bedeveloped as a heritage and cultural destination; Kingman Island as a watersports zone and the upper reaches around Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardensas an environmental zone.



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ANACOSTIA RIVER


River CultureWater Activities

Along the Anacostia there are no

townhouses and restaurants likethose that face out on to thePotomac.

At present, there are sevenmarinas and boating clubs in thelower Anacostia, all on the westside of the river. Including theAnacostia CommunityBoathouse by the 11th StreetBridges which is home to severalcanoe and kayak clubs andhosts regattas for high school

rowers and Chinese dragon boatraces.

There is little development on theeast side, except a boat ramp,but the Anacostia developmentplans include new boat landingsat Good Hope Road and at theRecreation Centre in Anacostia

Park.

On the west however, there are plans to enhance the marinas by creating aBoathouse Row and further facilites are planned up and down river.

A long-term goal of improving the water quality in the Anacostia is to make theriver clean enough to swim. Urban beaches are part of the new vision for theAnacostia waterfront. Fishing has also been a long-standing and very popularactivity although current warnings advise people not to eat their catch which caninclude catfish, carp and eel.

Environmental education on the river and its habitat is considered to be animportant aspect to healing the river ecosystem. At the Matthew Henson Centre, arestored pumphouse on the Anacostia River, members of the Earth ConservationCorps learn about the local ecology and wildlife, and work on all aspects of habitatrestoration: removing debris, placing booms to contain combined sewer overflow,planting trees and gardens and educating the community about the environment.The Corps has built the first green roof in the city and is currently constructingthree demonstration segments of the Anacostia Riverwalk and Trail. Since 1989they have provided hundreds of unemployed, out of school youth aged between17 and 25 with hands-on environmental training, career skills and leadershipdevelopment training while restoring the Anacostia River.

The Anacostia Watershed Society are also concerned about the environmentalneeds of the Anacostia River and its watershed. Since 1989, they have mobilizedthousands of volunteers and supporters to plant trees, stencil storm drains,restore wetlands, pick up trash, write letters, make phone calls, paddle canoesand kayaks, ride pontoon boats, participate in rallies, hike, bike and walk, removeinvasive plants, stabilize stream banks, watch slideshows, visit local landmarks,row, and much, much more, all in the name of returning the Anacostia River andits surrounding communities to a clean and healthy condition.

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Anacostia River

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